Forging apparatus



March 1956 w. A. BARNES 2,736,948

FORGING APPARATUS Filed July 3, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l 3 l0 file /0 ,0 i5

'9- Fig.2 Fig.3

Fig 4 H 5 Fig. 6

I N VEN TOR.

March 6, 1956 w. A. BARNES FORGING APPARATUS Filed July 3, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

United States Patent FORGING APPARATUS William A. Barnes, Utica, N. Y.,assignor to Utica Drop gorge & Tool Corporation, a corporation of NewApplication July 3, 1950, Serial No. 171,914

2 Claims. (Cl. 29-35) This invention relates to forging practices ingeneral, and relates more specifically to fields of upsetting androlling.

The primary object of this invention is to perform two forgingoperations in one cycle of a forge machine.

Another object of this invention is to produce a workpiece from a workblank, wherein the workpiece has one end enlarged with respect to thework blank, and the other end reduced.

Another object of this invention is to produce such a workpiece in oneoperative work cycle of a forging machine.

Still another object of this invention is to produce a turbine, orsimilar type blade, in which the grain flow of the material between theblade and the base is substantially unbroken, thereby providing improvedstrength characteristics.

Other-objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had byreferring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1-6 illustrate progressive steps in one embodiment of a forgingprocess incorporating the principles of this invention;

Figure 7 illustrates diagrammatically the operating parts of a machineembodying the principles of this invention;

Figure8 is a .perspective view of a forging made by the process andapparatus of this invention; and

Figure 9 is a side and bottom view of the finished blade I having twocooperating surfaces, with at least one of said surfaces being curved.The surfaces produce a roll forge action upon a workpiece held betweenthese rollers. In many of the-machines the surfaces have a portionthereof recessed away in order that the surfaces will be in cooperativeforging relationship only during a part of one complete revolution.

In the Figures 1 through 6 of the drawings, two rollers 10 areillustrated in their cooperating relationship. No machine structure isillustrated to support and drive the rollers 10, because such machinestructures are well-known in the industry and would serve no usefulpurpose in the drawings. Two rollers 10 are chosen as illustrative, notexhaustive, of the rolling forge action possible.

The rollers 10 each have an annular surface including a curved workportion 25 and a relief portion 26. The

However, all ofrelief portion is simply a conveniently recessed notch inthe annular surface of the roller to space the annular surfaces of thetwo rollers out of forging relationship. Such a relief portion 26produces a shoulder area 27 between the work portion surface and therelief portion surface. Normally, one complete revolution of the rollers10 is a full work cycle and completes the forging operation.

Many types of metal structures require a combination of large and smallportions in one piece. An example of such a workpiece is a turbine bladefor modern high-sped turbines and air compressors. Heretofore, anyworkpiece requiring an enlarged area was produced by upsetting. A blankof approximately the size of the smallest portion is heated and upset ina series of upsetting operations untill the small stock is enlarged atone end..

The enlarged end may then be forged or machined to produce the enlargedportion of the workpiece. However, there are practical limits ofupsetting beyond which useful forgings cannot be produced.

An alternative of upsetting is to start with a large piece of stock andreduce a portion of that large stock to the size of the small area ofthe workpiece. Such forgingoperations are not always possible,especially if a sharp shoulder is required between the large and smallareas of the workpiece, such as in the turbine blade. Either extensiveupsetting'or extensive forging from large stock will be likely todisrupt the grain structure of the stock material and disrupt thestrength of the finished piece.

According to this invention, an intermediate size stock piece is bothenlarged by upsetting and reduced by rollforging in one continuousprocess. Theprocess is illustrated diagrammatically in the Figures 1through 6. A machine is provided of suitable structure to support androtate the rollers 10. A workpiece positioned between the rollers 10, asillustrated in Figure 2, lies in a path which may be called a work path.Rotation of the rollers 10 will cause the shoulders 27 to progresstoward one another to indent-or shoulder and grip the blank 12.

Continued rotation of the rollers 10 then will force th blank 12 to movealong the work path. The rollers 10 will continue to rotate and forgethe portion of the blank 12 rearwardly of the area at which theshoulders 27 make contact with the blank 12. Therefore, to start thework" cycle, the blank 12 can be extended along the work path beyond theshoulders 27 for a selected portion of its. length, and the. area beyondthe shoulders 27 will not be forged by the rollers.

According to this invention, the roll-forging and upsetting process. arecarried out in one forging cycle. This process is highly saving of time,but other advantages are of even more importance. stronger with thegrain structure thereof intact, and flowing evenly between the smallandlarge portions of the forging. Less metal movement is required in coldforging, and heat damage reduced tremendously in hot forging.

tween two parts of a roll-forge means.

means, or anvil, is mounted in position for contact of the workpieceupon relative movement of the roll-forge means and upset means.

wherein the anvil is stationary, and the workpiece is moved by operationof the roll-forge means, or in ap paratus in which the anvil moves,either before or at the end of the roll-forge operation.

One successful apparatus embodying the features of this invention isillustrated in the drawings. The usual rollforging is altered in thisstructure by the provision of an anvil 11 lying in the work path toobstruct and/or prevent The finished forging 'is'.

It has been found that thisprocess can be successfully carried 'out inapparatus iteeemovementofithc; blank '12 leaving the rollers 10.

fi ure. 3 th b ank. 12,.is seen to beenlargin 11.

end thereof against the anvil 11. The rollers 1.0 are rotating, and theworkpiece blank 12 does not provide enough resistance tortherotationof:the-rollers -10, so therefore-an upsetting operation takesplace. onthat pori X i' the,workpiece blank, 12:. which was extendedbe-. yond-the shoulders 27.. Suitablemechanism of any convenienptype,may be employed to hold the-anvil 11 against release for a period oftime. sufficient ,to produce .the desired amount of upsetting on theworkpiece blank 12.

Figures ;1 throughv 4 illustrate, the anvil 11 held againstmovement,andaccordingly illustrate the increasiflanpset size. of the workpiece:blank 12. In Figure theanvil 11. has been released and an upset orenlarged portion 13 has been completed. .Upon the. release of the anvil:111, the portion 13 can:move away fro'm the rollers '10 .withontzfurtherforging, but the'portious of the workpiece blank.12,caught between thesurfaces-25 are rolled during the. remainder of the work cycle of therollers until {a fully rolledblade portion 14 is produced. In Figurc,6..the finished workpiece, having-the upset portion 13' and theblade portion 14, completed, is illustrated dropping-from the rollers.10.

During the experimental testing of 'this invention, sevoral differentmethodsof retarding the anvil'll were de-. vis'ed;. each having acertain degree of success. It was found that the anvil could be heldabsolutely fixed against movement for a period of the work cycle .andthen suddenly released, as illustrated in the Figures 1 through 6, or:the anvil could he released gradually in, apredetermincd-ratiowithrespect'to the vworkcycle, thereby pro-. ducingevarious effects upon aworkpiece. In any event, it isibelievedthatthis is the first combinationof roll-forging'anclupsetting, and the process has produced turbineblades and other similar types offorgings having im-. proved strengthcharacteristics and decreased machining costs; heretofore unknown.

Among-the successful types of mechanisms for retarding the movement ofthe anvil 11 is the retarder-mechanism 15' illustrated in Figure '7 ofthe drawings. The mechanism 15.-'is of the typeallowing sudden releasefor production of workpieces suitable for making high-speed turbineblades. The retarderrnechanism.15-ineludes a shafta17ttohold theanvil11. The shaft 17 is provided with curved-shoulders 16 thereon. Pivotarms 19*having wheelstls thereon proportionedto fit =-the curvedshoulder 16, aretpivotallymounted on two sides ofthe shaft 17 and areurged-to pivot toward one another bya strong spring 22; Thearms 19*arepivoted upon a pivotal mounting 20. A plurality of pivot pointsare-provided for the pivotal mounting 20. The pivot points are holesin-the casting of'the particularforge-machineused for this de-' velopnent. -Accordingly, the amount of force upon the shaft ill required tocam the'pivot arms 19 out-of -the* cooperating shoulders 16 may bepredetermined by, a see lection. of the-pivot point. Furthermore,-thestrength oflthe .spring- 22. may be. variedtoalter. the pressure re-.quiredi-to disengagethe wheels 18. frorn the shoulders 16. It willreadily be understood that the workpiece 12, when carriedxthrough theprocess. illustrated: in the Figures 1 through 6, will produce aconsiderable. end'thrust upon heanvil 111 which lies in the -work-path.-The endthrust is transferred to the shaft 17. Resistance to the-endthrust is-provided by the pivot. arms 19in an: amount determined by thelocation of-the pivotal mounting 20 and the strength of the spring 22.When the and thrust is sufp. ficient-to cause the wheels -1-8 -torideup.the'shoulders 16', thisdisengagement will take place suddenly andallowthe end-thrustto force theanvil ll and shaft 17. rapidlyalong thework path and out of interferencgwith 'free'movea.

mato s-thenorkni sc b ank 2:

An air cylinder 23 connected to the shaft 17 We rod 24,, is, provided,to return. theshaft 17-. and. anvil .11.,hack into proper relationshipwith the rollers 10 for the next work cycle.

It is of course understood that the Figure 7 is diagrammatic only, andthe actual machine parts to drive the rollers 10 and support theshaft 17and the air cylinder 23 are not shown because these parts will bereadily understood by those familiar with forging practice.

In Figure 9 of the drawings an actual turbine bladeis illustrated. Thisblade is used fcrsupplyingvairtfor :jet propulsion.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with'acertain degree of'par-ticul'arity, it is understood that the presentdisclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of exampleand that numerous changes in the details of construction and thecombination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spiritand the scope of the invention as hereinafterclaimed.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for upsettingand rollingcompr-ising a pair of oppositelydisposed rolls each having'work sur faces on their respectiveperimeters, support'meansfor rotatively supporting said rolls, each saidroll work sur-v face including an arcuate rolling surface and an upsetting surface, said upsetting surface meeting said 'arcuaterollingsurface to form a working edge and extending radially inwardlytherefrom, an anvil having a support portion and a working surface, saidworkingsurface of said anvil extending between said oppositely disposedrolls and being located. in a work position-opposite said upsettingsurface of said rolls-for -co.-op-.

eration therewith, said support portion of-=-said"anvil-' comprising aload yieldable means holding said anvil: workingsurface in said workpositionbetween said rolls whereby said anvil is retracted-from saidwork position be tween said oppositely disposed rolls when -apredetermined actuating force is exerted between saidupsetting;surfacesof saidoppositelydisposed rollsand saidworking surface of saidanvil.

2. An apparatus for upsetting and rolling-comprising a pair ofoppositely disposedrolls each'having WOX'KISUT- faceson their respectiveperimeters, roll support means;

for rotatively supporting said rolls, each said roll work:

surface including an arcuate rolling- -surface and an' upsettingsurface, said upsetting surfacemeeting said arcuate rolling surface toform a working edge and ex tending radially inwardly therefrom, an anvilhavinga working sura. face;:said working surface of said anvil extendingbetween said oppositely disposed rolls and being located=ina=workposition opposite said upsettingy-surfaceofi s'aidrolls'forcooperationtherewith, load yieldable means for 'positionm ing said anviland said-roll support meansrelative to eae'h other for-holding saidanvil working. surfacein saidwork positionrbetween said oppositelydisposed rolls whereby saidrollsand said anvil are retracted relative-toeach other from said work position between said oppositely. disposedrolls when a predeterminedactuatingforce is,' exerted between saidupsetting surfaceof said oppositely disposed rolls and said workingsurface of said anvil;

GreatBr-itaiu 1832

